Valdano: Vinicius has unprecedented support from Florentino at Madrid
Former Real Madrid man Jorge Valdano weighs in on Vinicius Jr's relationship with the club and fans, claiming Florentino Perez's backing is 'unprecedented in football history'.
Jorge Valdano has defended the level of support Vinicius Jr receives at Real Madrid, claiming the Brazilian couldn’t possibly get more backing from the club’s hierarchy.
The former Real Madrid player, manager and sporting director didn’t mince his words when addressing claims that Vinicius lacks affection at the Bernabéu. Speaking on Movistar after the Madrid-Monaco clash, the Argentine was crystal clear about the situation.
‘Unprecedented support’
Valdano reckons the Brazilian forward has the full weight of the club behind him, particularly from president Florentino Perez and the new gaffer. In fact, he believes what Florentino has done for Vinicius is something we’ve never seen before in the beautiful game.
To back his point, Valdano referenced a rather extraordinary gesture:
“Getting an entire team off a bus and not attending the Ballon d’Or ceremony because he wasn’t given the award - that’s not just affection, that’s the club completely surrendering to the player,” he explained.
The celebration snub
The comments come after Vinicius scored a stunner against Monaco but pointedly refused to celebrate with the fans. This apparent snub followed being whistled during the Levante match.
In a telling moment, when Mbappé was waiting to embrace him and approach the stands together, Vinicius swerved away and headed back to the centre circle instead.
“Vinicius today showed he’s not an easy character,” Valdano observed. “He got his own back on the fans in a way, by not participating in celebrating his great goal with them.”
Storm in a teacup?
Despite the tension, Valdano doesn’t think the rift will last long. He reckons it’s just a three-day wonder, but does reveal something about the Brazilian’s personality.
The whole situation’s a bit of a dog’s dinner if you ask me. On one hand, you’ve got a club president who’s gone to extraordinary lengths to back his star player - pulling the team from award ceremonies and all sorts. On the other, you’ve got sections of fans who aren’t showing the same love, and a player who’s clearly got the hump about it.
For a player with such incredible talent, these little personality clashes seem like unnecessary distractions from what should be the main event - his magical performances on the pitch.